What World is This?
by The-Stephanie-Scenario
Summary: Bella Swan's world was distroyed in New Moon, but was she really as damaged as she thought? As she gets over the loss of love, she grows closer to one certain werewolf, and it isn't Jacob. How would the lives of our favorite characters change if two souls were entertwined in a way the neither of them had ever expected or could have ever wished for. bellaXsam. Imprint story. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight, nor am I making any money off of this story. The characters aren't mine blah blah blah don't sue me. **

**AN: Okay, I know what you're thinking. . .'Another story, really?' And yes, this is another story, and I figured taking a break from Vexation would give me a little time to get over this writers block I'm experiencing. Anyway, this is a whole new story with a pairing that I've never tried before, but we're keeping it with the La Push werewolves. What else right? Their obviously my favorite men :)**

**But for once I'm not writing an OC! Weird right? I know, anyway I'm ranting, and this is a Bella/Sam story that takes place after New Moon. Sam never imprints on Emily. Bella never goes and becomes friends with Jake, she eventually gets over her depression stage (not saying she isn't still totally messed up, cause she is.) I just hate being a depressing writer and I don't think it's necessary for her to be so weak in this. Of course she'll start out that way, but in this story she'll actually grow a backbone. Hopefully. And who better than to teach her but the Alpha of our pretty pack of werewolves?**

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What World is This?

Chapter 1

BellaPOV

You never truly understand life until its bitched slapped you to the ground, and then pushed you further; burying you up to your throat in hate, and pain and every other terrible thing in the world, to the point where you're gagging on the Earth and pleading for it to end.

No, you never understand how cruel the world is until you experience firsthand, until you're desperately trying to gasp in air, and you suffocate slowly from the momentous amount of anger welling up inside you. You resent everyone and everything and eventually, you grow to hate yourself, and you're helpless to the truth. You can lie to everyone, your family, your friends, but you can't lie to yourself. And that deep seated hate will eat at you, decaying you slowly until there isn't anything left, and finally, you snap, and there will be no forgiveness when you do.

I knew this, I lived this and I was pathetic. I knew the truth and I did nothing. I left myself to wilt away, to curl into myself and die, because I hated myself for making him leave. He was my world, and I was stupid enough to let him control me that way, to lose focus of everything else around me and become nothing when he took that away from me. I was eighteen years old and I would age, and grow and eventually die, and he wouldn't. Not ever. He'd be beautiful, and frozen at the perpetual age of seventeen. He'd live forever, and in a perfect world I pictured myself at his side, frozen in time with him, content in his arms for the rest of our immortal lives.

But this isn't a perfect world. This wasn't even a world for me anymore. Not now that he was gone. It wasn't so hard to think about him anymore, it didn't hurt anymore because I was passed the hurt, passed the depression, I just was, and the startling truth about that was, while my body would continue forward in life, my mind would be stuck at seventeen, before my birthday party, before my entire world fell apart and I was happy. I'd remain there, and I'd be content to do so. Because there was no world without him, and I refused to live like he never existed.

"Bella." The dulled voice sounded through my bedroom door, ripping me unceremoniously out of my thoughts. I realized with a jolt that I'd been starring at the same two paragraphs of an essay due in English Monday for a good two hours.

"Yeah, Dad?" I asked back through the thick wood door separating us.

"Are you almost ready?"

My mind was blank. Ready for what…? I tried to remember if we had plans today. I never had plans, so you'd think I would remember if we did. He obviously took my silence as confusion. His voice came back a little bit more accusatory than normal.

"The Black's barbeque, ring any bells?" He reminded me tersely. Oops.

"Uh… yeah, dad. Be out in a bit!" I shouted, in a rush now. How could I forget about this? My dad had been looking forward to this all week and I forgot. Ugh.

"Alright." He mumbled gruffly, but I ignored it.

I rushed around my room, glaring at all the offending clothes strewn all over the floor. All of which, were of course dirty. When had I become so unorganized? I threw open my closet doors, searching for something decent to wear to this party, something that wouldn't make me look as bad as I usually did. I knew my dad was antsy to get to this thing, and I didn't want to burden him with my haggard appearance.

A thin piece of material caught my eye from the corner of my closet. It was a red dress Alice had bought me a couple weeks before my birthday. I cringed at the reminder of my best friend but pushed on and pulled the dress out anyway. It wasn't as extravagant as the pixie-like Cullen usually preferred, and I automatically appreciated that fact. It was short though, shorter than what I'd usually wear and maybe a bit too dressy for a barbeque, but it was a step up from the sweatpants and ratty t-shirt I was currently wearing.

I went into the bathroom next, to scrutinize my appearance. It'd been a while since I'd actually looked in the mirror. I was horrified at what I saw. My long dark hair was limp and dull, hanging around my face. My usually pale skin had lost all hints of color; my cheeks once hinted with pink were void of the usually annoying blush. I missed it. I was also thinner than I remember being, and considering I wasn't all that big to begin with, the weight loss was anything but flattering.

I didn't even meet my own eyes in the mirror, afraid of what I'd see.

I swung open the bathroom door hard and called out to Charlie, "Do I have enough time to take a shower?"

"We don't have to be at Billy's for an hour. . ." I didn't even wait for him to finish speaking before the bathroom door was shut again and I was hopping into the shower.

Washing my hair was terrible, even with its lank appearance there were a mass amount of tangles. I washed it twice just to make sure, and left in a deep conditioner. I continued to wash my body and shave my legs, already feeling the tiniest bit better for the normalcy of the actions.

When I got out of the shower there was color in my cheeks and for that I was thankful. I blow dried my hair and then let it hang natural, the long strands curling at the end and giving my hair a fullness that it was seriously lacking before. I slipped on the red dress, and almost threw it right back off. It was shorter than I anticipated, coming to an end halfway down my thighs. Even with the weight loss the dress clung in the right places, the sweetheart neckline gave me cleavage I didn't know I even had, and the half sleeves covered the protruding bones on my shoulders.

All in all, it wasn't too bad. It was actually pretty casual looking even despite what I'd originally thought of it. I looked back into the mirror and decided a little bit of makeup was in order. I put on the tiniest bit of blush to make sure some color remained in my face, and some smokey eye shadow with a thin line of eyeliner and then mascara. It wasn't overkill, but it made me look more alive than I had in a while.

I'd spent a little over a half hour in the bathroom and Charlie would be sure to come bugging me soon so we could leave, so I hurried to my room and found the only shoes in my closet that would ever actually go with this dress and strapped them on. They were white with a wedge heel that would decrease the chance of me falling flat on my face.

Just as I'd buckled the little strap by my ankle my dad was yelling up to me.

"Hurry it up, Bells!"

"Coming!" And again I was rushing. I hurried down the hallway but slowed when I got to the stairs so I wouldn't trip. My dad looked up as I reached the bottom landing and I couldn't tell what his expression meant. There was clearly shock and a little bit of pride, but I think I also saw a bit of worry that I couldn't decipher the reason behind.

"You look good, Bells. Let's head out." And that was all there was said about it.

The ride to Charlie's best friend's house was silent, and I honestly couldn't complain. I was too busy wondering if I looked like I was trying too hard. Alice would be proud. . . and then all knew worry developed in my head. Could Alice see me? Would she think I was moving on? Would that stop them from coming back?

I grew anxious with the thoughts and by the time we reached Billy's house I was a complete wreck. What if just something as simple as making an effort in my appearance would make Alice think that I was fine without them? I wasn't fine, not at all. I needed them. I'd always need them, him.

All of my anxiety melted when we entered Billy's house. I hadn't really paid much attention to anything around me until we'd stepped through the door and I was weirdly astonished by all the people that fit into the small house. Actually, while I took in the surroundings, I noted that I wasn't really a lot of people, but the sheer size of the people, the men, sent me reeling.

"Holy crap, what do they feed these kids?" I whispered to my dad.

Before he could answer, another gruff voice cut him off, and drew my attention to Billy Black's wheel chair prone form, beside him I could only assume was his son Jacob, but Jacob wasn't the baby-faced boy I remember from when I first moved here. He was built like a brick house, tall and muscular, enough to rival Emmett and taller than him still, probably standing around 6'6" in height. His long hair was cut short and his boy-ish features were gone. He looked like a man, and not that I usually noticed that kind of thing anymore, but he was an attractive one at that.

"Charlie! Bella! I'm glad you could make it." His smile was large, matching the one his son was now sending my way. I gave a hesitant smile in return, and apparently that was all Jacob needed because he bounded across the small distance between us and enveloped me into a hug, pulling me up into his arms and lifting my feet clean off the floor.

"Wow, Jake," I wheezed, "You've gotten big."

He finally put me down and held me at arm's length. "It wouldn't seem like such a big difference if you'd come around more often." His chastising was playful and I found myself smiling in earnest now.

"I'll take it from here, Charlie." He told my dad, pulling me under his arm and keeping me there. My head barely grazed his chest and I felt indescribably small in that moment, "I'm gonna introduce her to the guys," Jacob continued and then led me away, leaving a proud looking Charlie. Obviously he was happy with my easy going behavior. I don't think I could deny Jacob his happiness even if I wanted to.

Jacob pulled me along with him into another part of the house and then out of the house all together. There were five other guys standing around a fire pit in Jacob's back yard, all of them just as big as he was.

"Guys this is Bella Swan, Bella this is Sam, Paul, Quil, Jared and Embry." He introduced, motioning to each large russet skinned man in front of me. They all looked like brothers and as each one stepped forward to shake hands with me, I met their eyes and smiled. Feeling like I owed Jake's friends at least that courtesy.

Quil was probably the shortest out of the guys, but he was one of the beefiest, and his large hand consumed mine when he shook it. He gave me a flirty smile as he moved away from me to let in Embry's lean frame. His smile lacked the flirty nature of his friends', but compensated with its warmth.

Jared seemed like he was always smiling, while Paul, who he was obviously closest to was the complete opposite, with a scowl permanently stuck on his face. The prior shook my hand as well while the former hung back.

The last person to greet me was Sam, who out of all of them looked the oldest and most mature. He was taller than the others, even taller than Jacob and his hard face wasn't as closed off as Paul's but not nearly as open as any of the other four guys. He looked so observant and calculating that I was almost nervous to shake his hand, like he would reprimand me for it if I did it wrong.

Sam's russet skin was rich in color and contrasted with his thick black hair that hung nearly to his eyes. His eyes were what had me stuck on him, not even his full lips or hard jawline kept my gaze. His dark brown, nearly black eyes hypnotized me, holding me prisoner in their depth. He held my hand longer than strictly needed, and his strict face morphed into complete awe for a few seconds as he met my eyes.

And then, as soon as it happened it was gone and he was closed off again, leaving me to wonder what the hell it was that just happened.

Jake pulled me back into his embrace but when I looked up to see if he noticed his friends weird reaction he wasn't looking at me at all, but starred at Sam with a knowing look, one that if I was honest with myself looked anything but happy.

Things were a little awkward after that. Sam didn't say anything to me, and like Paul he hung back, sitting on a chair across the fire from me, the furthest away from me as possible. Even with his distance I noticed that as time went on Sam's gaze never wavered from my face, and I wasn't the only one who noticed. Jacob grew a bit possessive, which I didn't really understand. The rest of the guys seemed oblivious to the tension going on around us, or so I assumed.

An hour or so after we got outside Billy rolled out on the deck to tell us the food was ready. I went to stand up from my chair but Jacob insisted on getting me a plate, and not to risk falling in the dark with my heels on. The comment had some of the guys laughing as they got up to go get their own plates. I felt the telltale blush cover my cheeks. My eyes cast downward in an attempt to hide it.

When I looked back up I met coal colored eyes. Sam. I hadn't noticed that he didn't get up like the others. He was leaning back in his chair, almost cat like with the way his long legs stretched out in front of him. It faintly reminded me of vampires with the pure power of his position, even when he looked completely comfortable.

"Aren't you hungry?" I asked without really thinking about it. The silence, which I usually enjoyed, was making me antsy. He was just staring at me, not even blinking, just looking right through me into my soul and I couldn't help but stare back.

"Not in the general sense, no." He answered back, a smirk pulling his lips. I just nodded, not exactly knowing how to react to something like that.

"How are you doing?" He asked suddenly, and I wasn't under any false pretense that the question was him simply being polite. There was meaning behind it, meaning that I didn't really want to think about.

"I'm fine thanks," I answered casually, not meeting his eyes.

"You know that isn't what I meant. I was there, Isabella. I was the one who found you and carried you home that night." He leaned towards me, throwing away any sort of casual composure.

"I'm fine. It's really none of your business anyway. I don't even know you, And its Bella, not Isabella." the words came out harsher than intended but I didn't take them back. I couldn't. They were true. It wasn't any of his business how I was dealing with my problems. Just because he found me in the woods doesn't mean he had the right to ask me such a personal question now.

"Bella, is a nickname, and nicknames are only used by friends, and as you stated, you don't know me. So Isabella is what I'll call you, and honestly, _Isabella_, you'd assume you would thank me for finding you by at least being civil." The smirk on his attractive face had my eyes narrowing.

"How dare you—" I was cut off by Jake calling my name as he and the rest of the guys came back outside with mountains of food. He handed me a plate with more than anything I'd be able to eat, and Paul handed Sam one as well, obviously well aware that his friend stayed back for a reason.

Jacob pulled me back into his side and I watched as the smirk on Sam's face melted into a neutral expression once more.

"How's my girl doing?" Jacob asked me comradely, tugging on a piece of my long hair and watching as the curl bounced back, his usually sunny smile brightening his face.

"Jacob." Sam's hard voice moved Jake's attention away from me. "Don't forget you have work in the morning."

I didn't understand why Sam needed to tell Jake that now, but Jacob seemed to understand.

"Aw, Sam." He whined, "I was going to hang out with Bells tomorrow."

There was a sort of teasing lilt to Jake's voice that I didn't understand but from my view from across the fire, Sam's face was becoming harder, the mask slowly slipping to show the first sign of anger I'd ever seen on his face,

"Then I guess you'll have to cancel won't you?" Sam answered the same time I did.

"You were?" I asked, baffled at when we'd decided on this. Last time I checked, Jake hadn't made plans with me.

"Maybe Bells can hang around here while I work in the morning, one of you guys could keep her company I bet." Jacob smiled at the obviously tense atmosphere. All of them mumbled their agreement but Sam, and I understood that the look in his eyes was no longer one of anger, it was pure undiluted mischief.

Their eyes swept to me, as though waiting for my response and all I could do was nod because my brain hadn't really connected to my body yet.

Sam's knowing eyes kept me prisoner for the remainder of the evening, even when my eyes would wander, they'd always return back to his, and they'd always meet his gaze with no hesitation. There was something about him that I couldn't put my finger on that drew me in.

What I did know was that I didn't feel the ache in my chest at all that night and that had me worrying more than anything else did. Because if one night with these rowdy teenage boys could make me forget my world, I don't know what more time with them could do.

And I wasn't sure if I really had it in me to find out.

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**Review Review Review! :) Tell me what ya think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Alright, I really wanted this to be out earlier so I could try to get in another one tonight, and I mean, that still might happen, but it's looking a bit doubtful. Oh, and I'm looking for a Beta if anyone is interested, just PM me. . . if anyone even reads this… whatever. Anyway.**

**On with the story and I hope you all enjoy. This story is only going to be ten chapters at the max, just a little something to pull my mind from Vexation for a while. And, for the whole Victoria thing, you're going to have to wait and find out.**

**Disclaimer: Like before I don't own Twilight or its characters. They all, unfortunately, belong to Stephenie Meyer, I just like to play with them, and write sexy scenes about the La Push boys… anyway…**

**Warning: This story IS rater M so if you're under 18 you shouldn't be reading it, and if you're 17 and can see rated R movies, then I guess I don't have to completely deny you this story. Reasoning; if you can see T&A in a movie theatre you should be able to read whatever the hell you want. Just don't tell me about it. Mkay?**

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What World is This?

Chapter 2

BellaPOV

It's hard to understand the decisions of others. You never really know what someone is thinking, unless of course you can read minds like he can, but for all the normal people, creatures, whatever, that are left in the world it's so difficult to guess the motives of the mind, and sometimes I didn't even really want to try.

But, how could you not be kept wondering when everyone around you decides it's their job to take charge and control your life? Charlie, Jacob. . . both of them apparently trying their damndest to bring me out of whatever little shell I'd buried myself into, and they weren't joking about it either.

Apparently, spending time with Jacob at their little bonfire the night before gave him every right to dictate whether or not I would see him again. And he chose the very next day to involve himself into my usually boring routine.

And there really wouldn't have been anything wrong with that for me, except one minor detail Jacob decided to leave out. Sam. Sam was one of Jake's friends and the most intense person I'd ever met outside of the Cullen's. His dark eyes never left me the entire night before, and despite the fact that I found him ridiculously attractive, the look was eerie and somewhat knowing, like he knew he was making me uncomfortable and he actually enjoyed it.

There were other things I noticed about Sam the night before, that it took me nearly all night to pinpoint the oddness of them. All of the younger guys around him, Jake included, seemed to look to him for approval with everything they did. I didn't really notice it before but the more I thought about it, the more it actually made sense.

It was like he was the leader of their group, and I could see it clear as day, the simple power he gave off, you could almost feel it when he was close enough. He was also older than them by a few years, so that could explain the sort of hero worship I saw in their eyes, but I didn't really think that was all to it. There was more to his knowing gaze, more to his commanding voice, and I couldn't pin point what exactly that was.

So, it sort of, but not really, came as a shock to me when those dark eyes greeted me as I swung open my front door the morning after. I almost sighed out loud at his smug posture; leaning against my door frame in all his 6'8" glory and I wouldn't be a woman if I didn't appreciate the way his jeans hung low on his hips, or how the white shirt he wore showed off his sculpted chest and washboard abs. I'd be a serious liar if I didn't at least admit that I wouldn't mind licking every inch of his skin.

I almost slapped myself. Since when had I become so dirty? I was convinced he knew what I was thinking, or at the very least that I was checking him out because the smug smirk grew on his face the longer speech evaded me and my eyes stayed glued to his body. Okay, yeah, I was obvious, but I wasn't used to men looking so ruggedly _sexy_.

Oh god.

"You know, Isabella, it isn't very polite to stare," his deep voice almost lulled me into a trance and I found myself leaning towards him, "Or get into people's personal space."

I snapped back away from him, nearly stumbling over the threshold of the door. Shit. Was I an idiot? Here I was getting into this guys' bubble and not even realizing it. He smelled so good though… like cinnamon and sugar…

"Are you alright?" Sam asked me, the smug look on his face gone as he moved forward to touch me. I backed up even more and he stopped, but the concerned expression he carried was genuine and the change in emotion so suddenly had my head fuzzy.

"Fine," I stuttered out, my arms wrapping tight around myself, but there was no pain in my chest, no hurt or even discomfort, it was just something I did when I felt vulnerable now.

"You're not fine. You haven't been fine for months." The accusation was there in his hard eyes again, and I didn't like the way it changed his entire expression. The concern no longer hiding the sheer anger behind the words; anger I had no idea how to even come close to understanding.

"That isn't any of your business, Sam. It's not like you actually care." I shot back, more confused than actually angry at the situation.

"You have no idea what I care about." He snapped, his usually calm composure slipping.

"Then enlighten me."

"I'd rather show you, Little One." The words didn't lack the anger that was slowly starting to develop on his face. I eyed him warily, not sure if I wanted to play into whatever he was thinking about it.

"Better get going. Get in the car." He continued when I didn't respond. I reacted immediately to his demanding tone and if I could have helped myself I would have told him to pack sand or something like that, but it was too early in the morning for me to even think, let alone think about Sam.

I followed him to a white, newish looking truck, and honestly I had no idea what kind, my knowledge with cars wasn't a vast one. But what I did know, was that this truck was huge, and of course it would have to be given its owners substantial size. I had to nearly jump to try and get into it, and after a couple failed attempts and one almost terrific fall, Sam stepped behind me and wrapped his big hands around my hips and lifted me effortlessly into the colossal vehicle.

It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, if it wasn't for the fact that when he touched me every single molecule in my body set on fire, and no not in the oh-my-god-I'm-spontaneously-combusting type of way, but more like if-you-don't-stop-touching-me-right-now-I'm-going-to-jump-your-bones. His hands were hot in that brief moment he touched me, and I couldn't tell if it was him or me or both of us that was generating that much heat but when all you're used to is the cold, the fire I felt with Sam was a huge contrast.

He shut the door for me after he got me safely in, and in the seconds it took for him to get himself in and the car started my temperature I'm sure had gone up by about ten degrees. I looked out of the corner of my eye at him to note his reaction, but his face was once again calm and the only indication of something other than that infuriating solemn expression was the tightening of his hands on the steering wheel every couple seconds.

The minutes ticked by slowly and in silence. Sam didn't say a word to me, he didn't even look at me but I was starting to get curious about him. I knew it was partly Jacob's fault I was stuck with him in this car by myself but what I didn't get was that Jake would go out of his way to inconvenience one of his friends this way, especially Sam, who seemed to be the ring leader in their mammoth sized circus.

"Why didn't Jake pick me up?" I asked suddenly, and I almost cringed as my voice rung loud in the silent cab of the truck.

"Jacob has work this morning, and it seems like he didn't want to cancel whatever plans you two had so he asked if I could get you and take you to my house until he was done." Sam replied offhandedly, but when he talked about my plans with Jake his voice seemed ever the tiniest bit tighter than normal.

Maybe he thought I would distract Jacob from his work or something, or maybe Sam just didn't like me, but whenever the subject of Jacob and I's plans came up he seemed to get agitated. Then I remembered something he said.

"Wait… I'm going to your house?" I asked then, starting to get nervous about being alone with him for any extended period of time. I didn't know what was going on in my head concerning this man, and the hell if I wanted to push my newly found attraction to him to their limits. Who knew what I'd do. Well, I _knew_ what I'd do; I'd make a fool of myself, no doubt about that.

"Yes, Isabella. You're coming to my house."

"Why? And would you just call me 'Bella' already? This Isabella crap is getting annoying." I was ire at his lack of response and it sent my stubborn nature off.

"No." He completely ignored my first question but by the time I realized this I was already asking him something else.

"Why?"

"Because, I like 'Isabella' better. No one else calls you that." He stated firmly, leaving no room for arguments from me. I really didn't know what to say anyway. So I kept quiet the rest of the drive to his house, which I noted was further into the forest than Jacobs was. I really hoped he didn't turn out to be a serial killer or something like that, because it was pretty obvious that he could kill me and no one would hear a thing out here.

The road we were driving on began to get denser and greener the longer we drove on it, it was well off the beaten path of civilization. No wonder he had a truck, given the way this thing handled all of the potholes and cracks in the crappy road. I would have demanded I drive myself if my truck wasn't broken down, but for the first time I was glad it was. There was no way my old beat up truck could ever handle this terrain.

Through the thick tree line I could barely make out a rather large cabin around the next bend. I hoped it was Sam's so we could finally get off this road. Turns out, it was. And when Sam pulled me from the truck, rather gently might I add, I admired his home.

The red bricks of the cabin were withered looking, but in a good way, a homey way that actually had me breathing in a sigh of relief. The house was two stories and a bit larger than other homes I'd seen on the rez, but it wasn't in an obnoxious way. It still had the same worn in qualities that I admired in the other houses in La Push.

There were two twin gardens on each side of the walk way up to the porch that led into Sam's house and I noticed a variety of different flowers planted there, they were well kept and meticulously planted. The irony of them wasn't lost on me. Here was this man with pretty much nothing but stern expressions and he secretly liked gardening? That was great. Hah.

"It's not very manly, I know, but it relaxes me." Sam's voice was softer than the last time he spoke and it caused a smile to pull at my lips. I liked his voice when it was gentle that way, not that I didn't like it any way he talked, but there was something about this man that made me think being gentle wasn't something he was used to. It made me feel special that he shared something personal like that.

It also sent a shiver of guilt down my spine as I realized how stubborn I was not to answer his questions before. When I think about it, there was no reason I shouldn't have; he was obviously doing it out kindness.

My eyes shot to Sam's and my own light brown ones met his nearly charcoal gaze like I knew they would. We stood there outside of his house for a few moments just looking at each other.

"I'm not fine." I whispered, my gaze falling back to the stone walkway in between the beautiful gardens. The words were barely audible but they were out in the open, and this was the first time I ever said them out loud. With them hanging in the air that way, I realized that they were truer than I gave them credit for.

It wasn't just him that left me. It was an entire family. A mother figure lost when I grew up not really having one. I always had to be the responsible, nurturing one. Then Esme and Carlisle stepped in and suddenly I was a teenager again, they were like parents to me. Emmett was like a big brother and the same for Jasper even given the distance usually between us. At least Rosalie was never inclined to dote on the poor, fragile little human. It hit me hard understanding that I never meant as much to them as I thought I did. How they could just leave me. . . you don't leave your family.

Alice was my best friend, my sister, everything I wasn't and she was probably the hardest to let go of, maybe even more so than Edward. He was my boyfriend, the love of my life, but he was always distant, always controlling, and thinking about him that way now turned me to resentment towards him; Alice as well when I focused on all the feelings I held for my best friend. I had so much pent up anger and frustration that I didn't even know how to deal with myself. I reverted into my mind so I wouldn't have to feel the tool their leaving paid on my body and soul.

"I know, Little One." Sam spoke from closer than I expected, my eyes drawn down as he kneeled before me. Even on his knees he was nearly as tall as I was and his gaze met mine almost evenly. "I want to help you." His soft voice spoke volumes to me and I felt my eyes prickle with unshed tears.

"Why would you ever want to help me?" I barely knew this man, I didn't know what he did, who he was or really how he was like at all, but it didn't matter, because what I did know was that for some unknown, irrevocable reason I was drawn to him. My body moved without consent and I leaned closer to him, gently resting my forehead on his.

"Because, you're special; and believe it or not, but I do know what you're going through." His large palms came up to hold my face, whipping the tears gently away with the calloused pads of his thumbs.

I knew he did know; you could see it in his eyes. A brief flash of pain, at a memory or thought, I didn't know. And I wouldn't ask. But _he_ didn't have to. He knew why I was the way that I was. He'd been present for part of it; he'd already saved me from myself once.

"I'm not all that special. Just another girl that got dumped." I tried to laugh it off but his eyes held mine and the look in them choked the laugh out of me.

"You and I both know there was more to it than that."

"What do you mean. . . ?" I trailed off, suspicion welling up suddenly inside of me. What did he really know? There was a certainness in his gaze that put me on edge, a knowing that went far beyond a bad breakup.

"I need to show you something." He said suddenly, dropping my face and standing abruptly. He stepped back from me, a couple yards away and farther until he was closer to the tree line surrounding his house than me. And when he got to where he wanted he lifted his arms into an x across his abdomen and pulled his shirt up and over his head.

"What the hell are you doing! I don't know if this is how you usually get girls or something, but I think I'm going to pass!" Even as I shouted the startled words I couldn't help but take in Sam's gloriously shirtless form. And _kill me now_, it was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen. He had muscles packed into his wide shoulders, and prominent pecs that pulled your gaze down to his eight pack. I almost started drooling when I saw that V-indent and the hair leading down from his navel to below the waistband of his jeans.

I knew for a fact that if the jeans went I'd die. And probably be happy to do so.

"Calm down. I'm not some sexual predator that preys on teenage girls." The sarcasm in his voice snapped me out of my lust filled trance. And then I was sort of offended that he pretty much said he'd never go for me. Not that I'd ever go for him. . .

"Just watch." He rolled his eyes while he removed his shoes and socks and then stood before me barefoot and bare-chested. And like he asked, I watched.

I would have missed it if I'd blinked, I would have been terrified if I didn't watch his body morph and change right before my eyes. Hell, I was still terrified, because in the place where Sam once stood now bore a horse sized midnight black wolf, with human looking dark brown eyes.

And then suddenly I had a picture of my dad in my head, showing me a newspaper early in the morning one day last week. The front page story discussed animal attacks in the area, missing people, mutilations. And then everything started to make sense; Jacob telling me the story about the Cold Ones, and the legends of his tribe. The Quileute people were descendants of wolves. . .

Werewolves, Jacob had said.

Did that mean Jake was a werewolf? And the rest of his friends? The whole group I'd socialized with the night before were murders. _Teenagers turning into giant animals and destroying lives._ This was worse than finding out about the Cullens, way worse because I saw that coming. This came out of nowhere. All those people. . . those people they thought murdered by some serial killer… no.

All of these thoughts and images flashed before my eyes, eyes that were rapidly widening with fear; eyes locked on the largest wolf I'd ever seen. And for one time in my life, I did the worst thing you could possibly do in a weird situation like this. I did the worst thing you could do with a wild animal period.

I ran.

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**Sooo do you hate it, love it? Tell me :) I do want to know... unless it's mean... then pack sand. Just kidding. No really. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Dis. : Blah blah blah, I'm not making money off of this story unfortunatly. I don't own the Twilight characters, and I'd really rather not get in trouble for playing with them.**

**AN: Okay, I'm back, I know it's been a while but bare with me. I have excuses, and I'd love to give them, but seriously, I'm busy, lazy and I rarely have access to a computer, still that shouldn't stop me from updating. And I'm sorry for that.**

**Anyways, tell me what you think. Love it, hate it? Let me know, just don't be a dick. It's rude. :)**

**On with the story!**

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What World is This?

Chapter 3

BellaPOV

I was flying through the forest, my usually incompetent feet carrying me farther and farther away from the threat. _The threat_. Sam. My chest clenched tightly thinking of him that way, but by then I was way past thought or feeling or even reason. I was going on pure instinct, the instinct that a wild animal was in hot pursuit of me and I needed to get the hell out of dodge.

The forest flashed past me, colors and sounds blending into one masterpiece of scenery, and if I'd stopped to look I'm sure it'd be beautiful. I could hear the soft footfalls following a safe distance behind me, and I pushed myself harder, rubbing against trees and branches and receiving cuts all over.

One nasty branch caught the side of my face and tore through the delicate skin there like butter. The pain of it sent me stumbling to the ground. I tripped over myself and rolled across the leaf covered forest floor, my arms and legs sprawled wide when I finally came to a stop. I didn't dare move.

I could hear him come to a stop, closer than I'd necessarily want him to. It was silent save for my ragged breaths. I couldn't seem to bring enough air into my lungs fast enough and the noise echoed in the otherwise silent trees.

I felt a shimmer of air move around me, and then suddenly there were hands lifting me up, carefully like you would a child. My body was frozen. I couldn't even make myself fight against him. One minute I was lifted into the air and the next I was being pressed to a ridiculously warm body. I melted into the embrace even despite the fear I still felt towards him.

"I know you're scared, Little One. But you need to calm your breathing," Sam's deep voice soothed into my hair as he cradled me to his chest. I felt him slowly move to the ground as he held me, and even despite what he was I felt myself listening to him, calming my breathing until it was nearly back to normal. The fear I once felt towards him was evaporating, and a nagging in the back of my head told me that wasn't a good thing.

"You don't have to talk, but you do need to listen." His calm voice was lulling me, and I found myself curling into his large embrace. I was suddenly so cold, and his heat was drawing me in like a moth to a flame. I nodded against his chest obediently. And as he spoke I watched the scene around us, the light filtering into the canopies of green sending a glow around the forest floor where we sat, the tall branches moving softly from the light breeze whisking in and out.

"You know, I expected you to be more accustomed to monsters, given your recent history with them." Sam joked off handedly and my head snapped up to look at him. He read the confusion on my face easily and then sighed. "The Cullens. They were vampires."

My eyes widened with his words, and apparently my vocal cords weren't working yet either because all that came out of me was a little humming noise that sounded somewhere between a denial and a whine. His stern eyes met mine and the sound broke off. There would be no arguing my case. What need would there be anyway? He already knew.

"We are what we are because of them," There was a hint of resentment in his words that didn't belong there.

"What-" I cleared my throat quietly, "What do you mean?"

"There's something in our genes that's triggered when vampires are around. It signals the change that gives us the ability to turn into werewolves. It gives us the strength we need to protect our tribe from them. Killing vampires is our responsibility to the tribe."

"But all those disappearances. . . I thought—" I was cut off by Sam's suddenly amused voice.

"You thought when I phased into my wolf, that we were responsible for the killings, didn't you?" All I could do was nod weakly in affirmation. I did think that. What else would anyone think? You see this huge beast in front of you, and of course you're going to assume it likes to snack on people in its spare time. That makes sense…

"We protect humans from vampires. We don't hurt them. It's against our nature."

"Oh."

Sam's calloused hand came up to hold my face, turning my downcast eyes up to meet his. They were surprisingly gentle, the amusement there not malicious.

"I shouldn't have told you that way, but you're stubborn, Little One. I figured showing you was the best option, rather than deal with your continuous denials." His rumbling tone was vibrating into my ear with my head on his chest, and the movement and sound was lulling me.

"Why are you telling me this at all?" I asked sleepily, the warmth of his skin was tantalizing at best, sinful at worst. Queue sigh.

His response was hesitant, which was unusual given his confident personality. "There are a lot of things you don't know, and don't necessarily need to know right now. But, what I can tell you is that you're special, _different_ than other girls, Isabella."

"Different how?"

"Different. . . more important."

"Okay," I answered back; even though I had no idea what the hell that even meant… "So, if you aren't responsible for the disappearances, who is?"

I was still cautious, and I didn't know if that was going to change until I talked to Jake, or anyone else for that matter. But, I couldn't deny that being in Sam's embrace diminished the ache in my chest and distracted me from all things Cullen.

He sighed. "I wanted to talk to you about that actually, but I'd prefer to do so back at my place. Don't look down unless you want to get an eyeful." And with that he stood up, and from the corner of my eye I saw his bare thigh, and knew exactly what he meant. I was tempted, but then I thought back to when he said he'd never go for a teenager, and the desire slowly faded.

He held me close to his body, closer than you probably should with any stranger, and he walked quickly through the dense emerald scenery. I wondered idly what the effects of him being a werewolf were. If Jake and his friends were any indication, they all doubled in size, which made sense considering the size of the wolves. Though, I didn't necessarily know if that was just Sam yet or not.

We reached Sam's house in mere minutes, and I realized in my crazed need for escape that I probably didn't get as far as I thought I did, and just thinking about that sent an sharp sting across my cheek. My hand reached up involuntarily and rested against the newly torn skin. I could feel the ridged edges of the cut and put the blood coating my fingers quickly out of my mind.

"I'll get you all fixed up after we get inside and I find some pants." Sam assured me with a growl in his voice. Maybe he didn't like blood either? Then I felt bad, because I might have been making him uncomfortable for my rash behavior.

Of course, the one time I run away from anything, and it's the one mythical creature that actually goes out of its way _not_ to hurt me. Figures.

We walked along the stone path way to his porch, and quickly through the intricate glass door. Inside his house was spacious, with nice, homey looking furniture and a nicer looking kitchen. I didn't get to look at much as he passed by the rooms and up the stairs and down a hallway to the last possible door. I assumed it was his room considering the sheer size of the bed.

The room was dark with rich red walls and mahogany furniture, he didn't have a TV or desk or anything of the entertainment sort in his room and I found that a little odd, but considering what he said was his job, I guess computers didn't really hold the same amusement. Glancing around, I saw some framed pictures of him and the rest of the guys. There was one picture of Sam and a girl I faintly recognized but couldn't remember where from.

Then a thought hit me. Was Sam dating someone, hell, could he be married? I didn't even really know how old he was so I couldn't rule that out, but It didn't seem that way, though the couple in the picture looked happy and not platonic in the least. The idea of this strange man being with someone sent me reeling, I didn't like it, and it bothered me that I didn't. I didn't own this guy, I didn't have any say or reason to say that he not be with someone he so obviously loves.

Meanwhile as I began to fret internally, Sam passed through his room entirely, and then opened another door across the room from his bed, and set me into a medium sized bathroom. The bathroom had the same sort of decoration as the bedroom, with dark counters and a black shower with a see through glass door. I stared at it oddly as he told me to close my eyes and then sat me down on the counter top.

I did as he said and he quickly left the bathroom, only to come back a few seconds later and tell me I could open my eyes again. The sight that greeted me wasn't new, but it was sexy as hell none the less. His bare chest was eye level and I took in the thick tan muscles lining his chest and torso, the V-line of his hips sticking out deliciously. I finally realized when I'd become so sexual, when this mass amount of man decided to walk around without clothes on. That's when.

'_He has a girlfriend, Idiot._' And with that thought my eyes snapped up to his and met his amused gaze with a guilty look of my own. A small smirk pulled at his lips, though it wasn't condescending.

"Let's clean up that scratch, huh?" He suggested, breaking our gaze, and pushing my legs apart before kneeling down. I jumped from the swift movement and nearly slapped my legs back together just as quickly, and I would have, and then later looked like an idiot, if I didn't notice him open the cabinet doors below me and pull out a first aid kit.

One standing again, he eased in between my legs like it was nothing as he got what he needed out of the kit; but I knew my face was burning a bright crimson. I could feel the heat in my cheeks, but he didn't make a comment.

He was careful as he dabbed peroxide on my cut, even though I didn't even blink an eye. I was used to worse than just this. Sam was very thorough and very tender with his movements though, making sure to clean out the wound and then bandage it up properly.

"Good as new." He smiled fondly as one large hand rested on my cheek. My blush deepened, but I couldn't tell if he even noticed given the increasingly hot temperature of his skin. I didn't know if that was healthy, and I wanted to ask him so, but I couldn't open my mouth for fear of stuttering out something completely embarrassing.

I gazed into his deep eyes unintentionally, and it was too late when I caught myself. I'd already been ensnared in the devil's trap that was Sam Uley's eyes.

I couldn't stop it. The word vomit. Oh no.

"She's really lucky." I stuttered out, my eyes never leaving his. His clear gaze clouded with confusion before my eyes and I wanted to slap myself.

'_The _hell_ is wrong with you, Bella Swan?'_ I demanded myself, angry for the opening that I really didn't want to know. I didn't care if he had a girlfriend, or a wife, if he was even old enough for that, I didn't want to know. I didn't want that pretty, blissful moment -the moment where the ache was gone, the fear was gone and the pain was gone- to break.

"Who is really lucky, Little One?" He cooed, brushing a stray strand of hair from my face.

"Your girlfriend." Why the hell couldn't I stop talking? Seriously, wasn't there a switch or something that I could turn on? Preferably something that said 'shut the fuck up idiot' in big glittery letters?

"Girlfriend…" He trailed off, dropping his hands from me and looking away, as though trying to understand what the hell I was talking about. That makes two of us buddy.

I could practically see the light go off in his head when he figured out what I meant. "You mean Leah? The girl in that picture by my bed?" He demanded, and I almost sensed a bit of anger in the question. My defenses automatically came up.

At least I knew who the girl was now. Leah Clearwater, Charlie's friend Harry's daughter. Hell.

"Don't boys who have girlfriends have pictures of them on their nightstands?" I asked snidely back, turning my nose up in the air at him a little bit petulantly. Honestly, I didn't know if boys did that, I mean how could I? The only boy's room I was anywhere near was a vampire, and that sure isn't a normal standard of dating if you ask me.

"I don't really appreciate your attitude, Isabella." Sam growled, leaning in closer to me on the counter. It didn't escape my notice that he evaded the question.

"I don't really appreciate the fact that you call me Isabella, _Samuel_." I sneered back. "And you never answered the question,"

"Why do you care if I have a girlfriend or not?" He demanded hotly, seriously invading my personal space. I crossed my arms to keep some distance between us, but he pressed on, and the hard muscles of his chest pressed against my much weaker arms.

"She probably wouldn't appreciate you being half naked with another girl." I snapped, irritated with how the conversation had turned. For someone who seemed so mature he surely wasn't acting his age…. Whatever that was…

He barked a hard laugh. _Dog._ "Don't feel special, Sweetheart. The outfit just comes with the werewolf perk." Ouch.

I huffed and looked away from his hard eyes. I didn't mean to turn the question into an argument. Hell, I didn't even mean to ask the question. I wasn't a very good on the spot thinker. It showed.

A long sigh escaped the man in front of me, and his big palm caught my chin and turned my face to him. His eyes were still angry looking and I felt myself turning back to the submissive Bella under his hard gaze.

"I don't have a girlfriend. Leah and I aren't together anymore. We're just friends." He explained calmly, still holding my chin and not letting go when I nodded and tried to turn my head away again. I compromised by dropping my gaze.

"I would be jealous too." He admitted softly when I continued to evade his charcoal eyes. I tensed with his words and found myself ready to deny them as well, but figured it didn't really matter if I did or not. He wouldn't listen anyway.

"If I saw you with some punk kid I'd be blind with jealous rage." He continued with an amused lilt to his voice.

"Why do you do that? Treat me like I'm thirteen or something?" I demanded, annoyed by his constant kid jokes. It's not like I was some teenybopper with a crush. I was eighteen years old. I didn't need to be treated like a child.

"You might as well be," he laughed, and his mood swing caught me off guard. "The age difference between us is accurate enough."

I did the math quickly in my head. "You're twenty-three?" I asked hesitantly, unsure of how I felt about that. It wasn't as big of an age difference as he made it seem, but it was still a considerable one since I was still in high school.

"I'll be twenty-four in March." Sam agreed, looking at me now like I should somehow understand his 'little one' and 'punk kid' comments. I groaned.

"You're one of _those_ aren't you?" I rolled my eyes at him, my mood lifting as I disregarded his statement.

"I'm sorry? One of what exactly?" His eye brow rose easily, in a look I much wished I could even try to imitate.

"One of those people that thinks age is some mindboggling equator line that separates 'children' like me apparently, and 'mature adults' like you." I again rolled my eyes at him. He obviously didn't appreciate that very much, his hand tightened on my chin and he pulled my face toward him so he could look at me.

"Your attitude isn't really disproving my belief, Isabella."

"I'm just as mature as you are. Given I can see past a number and focus on the person, I might even be more mature than you." I didn't necessarily agree with the claim, but I would never admit that out loud.

He stared at me blankly.

"Are you kidding me right now? Is this a joke?" he asked, baffled.

I shook my head as seriously as I could at him.

"The only thing 'more mature' than me in this room is your crows-feet." He replied just as seriously. I froze. And then my hand lashed out and landed sharply on his chest.

"You ass!" I gasped and involuntarily twisted my body around, jerking my head out of his hand so I could look at my face in the mirror behind me. Hah! No crows-feet. My face was smooth as a baby's bottom. What a jerk. I twisted back around and was met with Sam's smirk.

"You know this whole argument started because you were jealous of someone that doesn't even exist, right?" Sam laughed once he had my attention again. I huffed.

"Leah doesn't exist?"

"This girlfriend you think I have doesn't exist. Though you certainly are acting like a jealous one yourself." The smirk on his face was reflected in his voice and I couldn't even be mad at him for it. It was true.

"Like you weren't jealous of Jacob touching me at the party yesterday," I scoffed, trying to put more blame on him. Divert the attention, Bella, good idea.

"That's different." He snarled his face suddenly dark again. God, he'd moody…

"How?" I retorted, outraged that he'd push a double standard on me.

"He is real, and was _really_ touching something that didn't belong to him." The growly tone of his voice was totally demeaning, but if I was being honest with myself, which I rarely was, it sent shivers down my spine, in a not so bad kind of way.

"I don't belong to anymore." I denied, finding myself relaxing into him even despite my words. My arms uncrossed on their own and ended up hanging loosely from his shoulders. And what shoulders they were. Sigh.

He leaned in close to my ear, closer than he'd ever been before, and his voice was undeniably seductive when he spoke next.

"That's where you're wrong, my Isabella; and I'm going to tell you why."

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**Review Review! :) I love the feedbake, it really keeps me going.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Okay, same as in every chapter. Anything recognizable belongs to its rightful owners, but I'd like to say that the plot is mine and plagiarism is annoying as all hell so don't do it. Yeah yeah, it's the best form of flattery or whatever but I'm not really into that kind of flattery. Just don't do it. **

**AN: I know it's been a while but bear with me her, okay? This chapter has a lot of emotional rollercoasterness. Don't care if that isn't a word. Anyway, the excuses I'll make get old so I'll keep them, but I'll say this, I moved and that in itself is a feat so don't hate. It was pretty hard for me to get the explanations right, which was reason for the delay. I still don't honestly know how I feel about this chapter yet.**

**I'd also like to point out that Bella gets a little OOC in this chapter, a little immature for how we usually see her, but I want the age difference between Sam and Bella to shine through in their maturity levels. I want Sam to seem like the cool, collected Alpha that he is and I need Bella to be a teenager, it just isn't believable to me if she doesn't. Cause seriously? If I saw a huge Native American man blow up into some giant wolf I'd flip shit, run and never turn back. Seriously, that's just life. And I mean no offense by the 'huge Native American man' thing. I'm ¼ Seneca. **

**Moving on from my ranting. . . Please enjoy and leave me love!**

**See you at the bottom :)**

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What world is this?

Chapter 4

BellaPOV

Sam's words forced a shiver down my spine, and with that an excessive amount of adrenaline rushing through my veins. Even with his domineering statement I almost felt myself swooning. If it wasn't for my pride I would have let it slide and happily fallen into his possessive attitude. Too bad for poor Sam, my inner bitch was coming out and the outcome didn't seem like it was going to be pretty.

"I've already been with a semi-stalking control freak, Sam. I don't need to deal with that shit again." The tone of my voice meant business even as my traitorous hormones screamed that they'd love for him to control me. I agreed, but I'd never admit that out loud, ever; or unless he asked me very nicely in that growly voice of his. Maybe then.

"I am _nothing_ like that Little Shit." Sam snarled, apparently a bit more feral than I'd originally thought. He pulled himself roughly away from my neck and just meeting his gaze sent another tremor from my head to my toes.

The charcoal of his eyes seemed to glow the longer I stared, as though there was molten lava flaring just under the surface pushing constantly and burning him from the inside out. There was something in Sam's gaze that I couldn't decipher and it caused a nagging tug to develop in the pit of my stomach.

"You've never even met him. How would you know?" My response caught him off guard and I could practically feel the anger well up in him, I prepped myself for the blow out. I could just tell from Sam's expression that one was about to come, and I knew I wouldn't like anything he said. I was practically cringing already, and frantically berating myself in my head; not of course, for standing up to him, but for goading him with Edward.

He opened his mouth to say something and I leaned back into the glass of the mirror in preparation. He didn't say anything though, he just watched me, calculating everything, and as he calmed down the light in his eyes dimmed until they were back to their regular bottomless coal color.

"You're right. I don't know him. But, after everything he's done to you, it's not exactly a compliment to be put in the same category." Sam said finally, his eyes and tone as soft as the hand now cupping my cheek.

Well. Instantly I felt like a bitch and just as much of a child as he claimed I was. Here he was being mature, taking the time to calm himself before anything extensive happened, and all I could do was bait him. I suck. I sighed and unthinkingly leaned my head forward until it rested against his. To hell with his natural calming effect, I didn't like the way my body reacted to him. Well, I mean, of course I _liked_ it. But it shouldn't be this way, not this soon after _he _left me.

"You're not. . . I mean, I don't know if you are. I don't know you. . ." I trailed off awkwardly, unsure of how to voice what I was feeling or my reaction to his words.

"I know that this has all gone a bit fast," he gestured to the miniscule gap between our bodies. "That isn't how I wanted to do this. I get ahead of myself, and I keep forgetting that we don't know each other as well as it seems."

"I don't know what you want me to say, or do, or how you want me to react even. I don't know what you're asking me but something tells me it's important." More than important, life altering, and I knew what that felt like. The secret emotion in Sam's eyes was what kept prickling in my mind again and again, it was familiar but completely different than anything I'd ever seen.

"I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely, and for once he seemed to be out of his element, unable to put into words what he obviously so needed to.

We both looked away from each other then. The day's events ran in a consistent carousel movement in my head, rounding again and again over and over. Everything had happened so fast and at such intensity that I didn't know what to make of it, but I couldn't make myself regret anything. I could feel the hole in my chest stitching back together, like someone was sowing the gaping emptiness inside of me shut. And I feared for myself, my heart and my future that the person doing so was standing right in front of me.

'_Don't do this, Bella.' _I scolded myself rather weakly. It wasn't for lack of effort on my part; I knew the reasonable side of me didn't agree with anything that was going on right now. I didn't even know Sam, at all, and before yesterday I didn't care to know him. But, everything seemed to change in a mere moment, the second his gaze meant mine, I felt like my world was shifting, twisting into something completely new and terrifying and completely focused on this man. I felt out of my skin in an exhilarating way.

I knew he was something I could get addicted to, but could I take that chance?

"There are a lot of things you don't know, Little One. I just can't seem to force the words out." Sam sighed, brushing his nose lightly against mine in apology. As soon as his skin came in contact with mine there was a loud crash heard from downstairs.

Sam jerked back from me instantly, his teeth bared and a protective look in his eye, and then as soon as the look registered it was gone and with it came his casual smirk from the night before. I detested it. He pulled me down from the counter and my feet hit the linoleum floor lightly. Sam stepped back and away from me quicker than I thought he meant to and then gestured for me to pass by him.

I hoped that it was one of his friends, because Sam would have to be pretty mental if he ushered me down the stairs and into the arms of something that would eat me. Though, given his random mood swings I couldn't be sure, and I proceeded cautiously.

We moved through his house in silence and every time I would glance back at Sam he'd have a smirk on his face with a slightly mad look in his eye. I grew more and more nervous the further we traveled through his house. We made it to his kitchen and the sight before me automatically made me relax. Sam huffed at my obvious approval.

Jacob Black was lounging at Sam's table with his feet propped up on top of the smooth, unscathed surface. He smiled lazily as we entered, his eyes catching on the restraining hand Sam put on my shoulder. I shot a glare back at the older man, miffed that he touched me so casually and without apology. I shook his hand off defiantly and strode towards Jacob, plopping myself right on his lap and meeting Sam's eyes.

I watched as Sam's face shifted from one emotion to another, stopping on disgust as my weight shifted on Jacob's lap and he had to hold my waist and drop his feet from the table to keep us upright in the chair together. I didn't know when I'd become so bitchie, but apparently I had and that side of me was shining through as I blatantly smirked at Sam.

"Damn, Bella, since when are you so friendly?" Jake laughed, obviously playing along as he pulled me back towards his chest and wrapped his arms around me. I could feel the heat generate off of him and snuggled back into Jake's embrace.

"Jake." The command in Sam's voice so suddenly had Jacob standing and pushing me lightly away from him. When I met Sam's eyes I expected anger, but instead he was smiling oh so prettily back at me. Dick. Ruining my fun.

I grumbled crankily at not being able to affect him as he was so obviously able to affect me. My eyes shouted obscene words at Jake as he cowered before the larger man in front of us. He was like a puppy with his tail between his legs, almost quite literally. Wimp.

"What are you doing here, Jake?" Sam's sultry, demanding voice did things to me I'd rather never speak of out loud and it made me resent him completely; it was all of his fault after all. I sulked rather immaturely as they went on and on about this wolf thing and that wolf thing, talking about how much they love running around half-naked together. Okay, maybe not that last part, but from how intently they were glaring at each other it wouldn't be all that surprising to find out Jakey-poo and Sammy swung both ways. Ha.

"You need to be paying attention, Isabella." Sam snapped suddenly, pulling me out of my wolf-man fantasies. That was obviously what my life was reduced to, fantasizing about half-naked man-children running amuck in my own backyard. Hell.

"Sorry, do continue." I smiled back at him pleasantly, deciding to be obnoxious and play with my hair, pretending to ignore him still. I was listening, just not actively. A phrase Jacob mentioned caught me off guard and sent me reeling though.

"Red-headed leach? You mean, Victoria?" I demanded, all of my good humor lost. I eyed both Sam and Jacob intently, waiting for a response.

"If that's what it's called. . . This Victoria keeps skipping around the boarders of La Push and Forks. We keep running her off but she always comes back for something, we just don't know what she's after." Sam's obvious ignorance had me laughing. For someone who claimed he knew so much about this damn place he really didn't know much of anything.

"She's after me." The 'duh' was implied with my casual admittance.

"What makes you so sure?" Jacob asked me, not looking convinced at all by my nonchalance.

"The Cullens killed her mate and now she's looking for an itsy bit of revenge on Poor, Human Bella. It's actually really obvious when you think about it, so obvious that I'm surprised your _alpha_ here hadn't figured it out yet." I wasn't sure where the attitude was coming from, but it was obvious I was the only one enjoying it.

A deep growl reverberated from Sam's chest, not the sexy kind either, just kidding, that's a lie, it was sexy as hell, but I don't think that's what he intended this time. He looked outright pissed. Eyes narrowed, teeth barred, snarling, wolfy pissed; at me.

"Isabella." The warning was bitten right off his tongue, and even with my new-found backbone I knew when enough was enough. You don't taunt wild animals, it's just not what you do, and obviously that was something I needed a little reminder of. I rolled my eyes anyway back at him, but kept my mouth shut.

"So this is your fault? That's what you're telling me?" Sam demanded, stalking towards me. My eyebrow went soaring up into my hairline at his accusation. I'd be more offended if it wasn't actually true, but it was and honestly what could I say?

"My fault?" I demanded, outraged at his blatant blame game.

"Of course it's your fault! Everything supernaturally wrong that happens has either to do with you or the Cullens. So yeah, I'd throw that out there."

"Why don't you just throw me up as bait and have yourself a nice little hoedown when she drags away my lifeless corpse? That way I won't have to inconvenience you anymore." I threw my arms up in the air in exasperation, annoyed beyond belief.

As if I asked for this raving psycho to come after me. I stomped out of the kitchen before Sam could say anything, marching into his annoyingly nice living room and throwing myself on his couch, not even caring when my shoe clad feet landed on his couch cushion. Take that douche-bag. I was tempted to scuff it up on purpose as punishment for his asshole tendencies.

I could hear Jacob and Sam arguing in the kitchen still, and eventually Jacob made his exit back out through the backdoor in the kitchen. All the while, I sat glaring off into space like a child, waiting for Sam to come back and bitch at me.

"You know the more time I spend with you, the more and more I think of you as a child." Sam's deep baritone didn't startle me; I was expecting it and I didn't respond to him.

"The more you treat me like one, the more I'll act like one." I finally replied after the silence remained too long for my comfort. I didn't hear him come closer to me, but soon I was being lifted into a set of large, muscled arms. He placed me in his lap, facing him, my legs straddling his hips and I appreciated the position even despite my annoyance.

He just stared at me, his coal eyes meeting my much warmer brown gaze. His palm cupped my cheek and he seemed to be contemplating something. Very slowly he pulled my face closer to his and in an instant his mouth was on mine and just as quickly did I melt into his embrace. I sighed on contact, my fingers twisting into his thick hair and holding tight.

And then it was over, he pulled my head gently back and stared at me again.

"I just don't like being taken by surprise. All I want to do is protect you, and protect the people of my tribe, and I can't do that right if I don't know everything that's going on." Sam soothed my anger right away, and even despite myself I found myself falling gently into this near strangers embrace.

I was nearly blindsided by the gentle tone he'd used, something so much different from how he'd talked to me just minutes before. I wondered if the emotional rollercoaster belonged werewolves in general or if it was just a Sam thing. I didn't know which one I'd feel more comfortable with. All I knew was his emotions were obviously contagious. I found myself reacting almost involuntarily to them.

"Tell me who Victoria is." Sam demanded suddenly but there wasn't any bite to the words.

"She was James's mate." I said, but I knew he'd have no idea what I was talking about. "Those months ago, when I came home from Phoenix all battered up it wasn't because I fell through a window. It was James, one of the three nomadic vampires that passed through town. They heard the Cullen's playing baseball one night when I was with them and because he saw how defensive Edw- the Cullen's," I glanced up quickly when I nearly stumbled over his name. I still couldn't force myself to say it out loud. "—were of me, I guess he wanted to test them by going after the one thing they all were trying so hard to protect. So we led him and the woman away from Forks, I told Charlie I wanted to go home and I headed to Arizona. Needless to say James found me there and when I snuck away from the Jasper and Alice—"

"Why the hell would you sneak away from them?" Sam demanded angrily, catching a hand in my hair and pulling it gently back, separating us more so he could look at me better.

"He told me he had my mom." I snapped back, "He played a home video of her calling my name over the phone. Of course I believed him. So, when he told me to meet him at my old ballet studio alone, I did it. I'd do anything if I thought he had my mom. So can I continue?"

He still looked angry but he motioned for me to go on and I did thankfully.

"So, I met him at the ballet studio, and of course he really didn't have my mom. He tricked me so he could get me alone. He threw me around for a while, having fun I guess before he finally decided to bite me. The Cullen's showed up just as he was about to drain me dry and they killed him, and then burned the pieces of his body. The woman, Victoria we later found out was his mate so I'm assuming that's why she's after me. A mate for a mate. Too bad no one told her _he_ wasn't really mine."

I ended my story quietly and it took me a few moments to notice the completely horrified look on Sam's face but when I finally met his gaze and registered the emotion he was already running his hands all over my body, down my shoulder to my arms, over my hips and down to my ankles resting by his knees.

"He bit you. . ? Why aren't you?" He obviously couldn't say the words out loud; the thought seemed to tint his face green.

"_He_ sucked the venom out before I could change, he very nearly couldn't stop, but he did and so did the change. I have this scar on my wrist to show for it." I held up the offending scar that James and Edward left to show him and he snatched my hand up quickly, inspecting the damage, brushing the part of my skin that was always cooler than the rest over his scorching cheek.

"The pack will take care of it. You don't need to worry about this Victoria."

"I can't let you do that, Sam. I've already had a family try to sacrifice everything for me. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to you or Jake." The stubborn edge in my voice did nothing to his resolve. He gripped my other wrist and brought it to mimic the other one on the opposite side of his face.

"One thing you need to know about the pack; we protect our own. You're one of us, Isabella. Maybe not in the shape shifting way, but in every way that matters." The warm look in his gaze almost had me choking on emotion. I breathed in heavily through my mouth, trying to stifle the tears that wanted to come. Here this man was; someone I barely knew laying down all of this devotion to me; to a pale face, an outsider that shouldn't matter to him.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked softly, dropping my eyes to his impressively muscular torso.

"I just told you—"

"No. Why am I part of your pack? I'm just some unlucky girl from the next town over. Sure, I'm Charlie Swan's daughter and I know your tribe respects him but it just doesn't seem like enough to put all of your lives in danger for." I explained, pulling my hands from his face and twining our fingers together in my lap. The contrast between my small pale hands and his large tan ones was vast. I liked that contrast; I liked it so much that it was unsettling.

"You're so much more than all of those things. To me, you're so much more." He breathed into my hair, pulling me even more into him and I reveled in the way my body just fit against his, as though I was made for him.

"You don't even know me." I denied feebly, even though I could literally feel the sincerity of his words.

Sam sighed.

"There's so much I need to explain to you, Little One. So much I don't know that you'll understand or accept." The fingers in my hair deepened and the slight tug from his hands made my back arch and my head fall back. His mouth followed and secured to the tender skin at my throat.

"I want to explain these things but I don't know how you'll react." For once since I'd met him I could sense a twinge of nervousness sneak through in his words. The feeling in my gut intensified at this. It was obviously something serious if it made him so nervous.

"Please tell me?" I asked breathlessly, my body still reacting to his mouth dancing along the skin on my neck. I was an obvious glutton for punishment. I'd had one supernatural being suck me into his trap and here I was letting another one do the same. But, I didn't feel trapped I felt warm and protected and confused by the sudden onslaught of feelings after going months trying to feel absolutely nothing.

"Imprinting. It's something us werewolves can do. It happens the moment we meet eyes with our perfect match, our soul-mate; the only person in the world that completes us just right. Our worlds shift and it's no longer gravity holding us to the ground anymore, it's this perfect woman. We love her almost instantly; it pushes us in the right direction towards happiness." Sam's deep baritone voice made the explanation so beautiful so meaningful and completely enticing.

The sharp tugging in the back of my mind brought up alarms as he spoke though, and even despite the romantic beauty of it all I was left feeling weary. _'We love her almost instantly.' _ That didn't sound voluntary and that set my teeth on edge.

"You sound so certain, like you know the feeling. Have you imprinted?" I asked warily, not meeting his eyes.

"You, Bella. I imprinted on you." He breathed against my skin, unaware of the inner turmoil unwinding in my head. He was forced to love me; by some werewolf trait no less. It would never be real, any attraction he felt towards me would be always be fake, just this supernatural curse placed on them, forcing them to be with some random girl that would ordinarily mean nothing to them. I couldn't breathe.

I tried in vain to gasp in air but I couldn't seem to bring enough into my lungs. I pushed roughly at Sam's chest, trying to get as far away as possible. How could he be so okay with this? Why wasn't he angry, why didn't he hate me? Oh yeah, because his fucking werewolf genes wouldn't let me. I felt unrelenting pity towards him. How could life be so cruel as to match him up with someone as wrong and broken as me? It wasn't fair. I wanted to cry for him. How could just being a werewolf steal love from him, or any chance he had at choosing who to love?

"What's wrong?" He demanded, suddenly alert to my breakdown. The concern in his eyes set me off and I flung myself away from him, nearly stumbling over the coffee table in front of the couch.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?! You're cursed to love me forever! You're _forced_ to love someone you don't even know! That's what's wrong!" I was shouting and halfway to hyperventilating now and I tried to keep myself that way when Sam stood and reached out to me. I didn't want him to calm me down; I wanted to react normally to something for once in my life. This wasn't right. I didn't want him to convince me that it was.

"Angel, I'm not forced to love anything. The imprint guides us to our perfect match. It pushed us in the right direction. Of course it's faster to feel all these emotions, everything as a werewolf is intensified. I'm tied to you because of bond that goes so much deeper than anything my wolf could feel, it goes down straight to our souls. I'd like to think I'd end up with you even if I weren't a wolf." He tried to explain to me, holding my hands to his chest as I wheezed.

"You may think it's a curse, and you might never change your mind. But for me it's the best thing that's ever happened to me, double since my change. You're beautiful and smart, and filled with so much fire I couldn't picture myself with anyone else. But," he trailed off, once again pulling me to him and settling down on the couch. My body followed willingly now as I listened to him though my chest ached from lack of air with each breath. "You don't have to accept the imprint. You have a choice. I won't ever be able to deny you, but if it's really so unappealing of an idea to you, we can be friends and you can find a man, and have a normal family and live life that way. I won't say I'll go away willingly, but I would eventually if that's what made you happy. Everything I do, I'll do to keep you happy and safe."

"I just. . . I don't know what to do. . ." I trailed off. It felt like my whole life was swirling and changing and morphing to fit around this man, and as I pictured my life years from now I saw coal grey eyes and that wide toothy smile and I didn't want to picture anything else. I saw my future filled with so much warmth, so completely opposite of how I'd once imagined it. I wanted that, and it scared me.

I was eighteen, I didn't want to think of anything so far in advance but I couldn't help it.

A little boy with dark grey eyes and mahogany hair flashed into my head. The dimple in the corner of his mouth would be the complete copy of his fathers and the sharp features would match him as well, but he'd have my smile and my porcelain skin and he'd be the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

I shook my head to get rid of the lingering image but it haunted me. The thoughts relaxed me, which in itself was startling. I did want that, I wanted to look into that child's face every day and see the man looking back at me now.

My heart lurched at the idea alone and once again I was stuck in a completely new position for me. What should I do? Should I give in and watch that future develop itself? I knew without thinking for a second that I could see myself loving Sam, imprint or not, he just appealed to everything in me in a way no one ever had, not even Edward. This man was strong and passionate and completely lost in the same way I was. Edward had been a dream, something so beautiful and unreal that you couldn't ever grasp it fully, and like a dream, just as things started to become too real he disappeared.

I didn't know what I'd do about Sam, or the imprint or my future, but in those brief seconds of thought I for once knew exactly what I didn't want anymore.

I just hoped that when all the intensity of the moment died down, that it would remain. My life was changing, I just didn't know whether I should stop and take notice or if I should go with the flow and let the molten lava in Sam's gaze sweep me away into the heat.

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	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Same as always, I own nothing recognizable besides plot or any original characters.**

**AN: Heads up, this chapter is a bit shorter than the others and honestly it's because I haven't posted in so long I really needed a filler. I felt like I was losing touch with the story and I wanted to get this out quickly.**

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What World is This?

Chapter 5

"I'm sorry." Jake's voice broke through the homework drunken haze that surrounded my vision. Advanced Calculus glared back at me, the numbers swirling together and becoming one jumbled up mess right before my bleary eyes. I'd been up for hours, and even though it was Friday night and I had all weekend to do this dreaded assignment, I forced myself to finish it before anything else distracted me. Watching Jake's shirtless form run up my porch steps, nearly minutes after I'd gotten home from school was enough of a push to get me started right away.

It was too bad the only person around had no inkling about Calculus either, and every time Jacob Black opened his mouth to ask me how much longer it would take the more I wanted to grab the new baseball bat I'd bought and slam it right against his werewolf skull.

"What are you sorry for, Jake?" I asked, not glancing up at him from the assignment I was working on. If he noticed the tense tone of my voice he didn't comment.

"I'm sorry for trying to rush you, but there really is somewhere we need to be." My head snapped up at this and Jake flinched at my expression.

"You mean Sam? I need to go see Sam, right? Well you might as well head over there without me, 'cause I'm not going." I snapped at him in aggravation. No one could deny the connection between Sam and me but, that didn't stop me from trying.

"Bella, he's hurting . . . and as much as I don't want him to spend time with you, he's my Alpha and the way he feels affects the whole pack. . ." Jake tried to reason, brushing his hand across my arm. I jerked away from him, nearly falling off the old folding chair at my desk. He was hunched over and even if I'd fallen I knew he'd have caught me. The thought irked me.

"I'm not part of the pack, Jacob. So, I'll say this as nicely as I can. I don't give a shit if he's hurting."

Jake growled slightly at my words. I caught a flash of his teeth out of the corner of my eye and I automatically twisted to face him. I hadn't noticed, obviously because I wasn't paying attention, that Jake had a seriously animalistic quality to him at the moment. I couldn't remember if he'd had the same expression on his face for the last four hours or if it was a reaction to my words.

"As much as you don't believe me, Bells, you _are_ part of the pack now; maybe not by heritage but by association. " I glanced away from him then, not wanting to continue the same conversation we'd had a million times in the last two weeks.

"Don't hide from me. I know you can feel it." He didn't have to explain what he meant, we both already knew. _It_ was the cord between Sam and I, the invisible string that was holding us irrevocably together. I could feel the tautness of it, as if it was pulled to the max and instinctively I knew it was because Sam and I were odd at ends.

"You can't fight it forever."

"I sure as hell can try." I responded finally, finishing up the last problem of my assignment and tucking it away in my Calculus folder, and then glared out the window in front of me. It was dark and besides the street lamp a few yards past my driveway that illuminated a bit of the neighbor's lawn, there was nothing to look at but my own reflection in the glass.

I didn't want to admit it but I knew that since Sam had lodged himself into my life, I'd gotten better. I filled out to my original weight before Edward left, my clothes finally fitting me like they should. I didn't look so hollow and ridged anymore and my hair was fuller and fluffed around my face. The color in my cheeks accented the newly acquired gleam in my eyes and as much as I hated to even think about it, I knew it was because of Sam and the hole he'd suddenly and impossibly stitched up in my chest.

"Why do you want to?" Jake asked quietly, starring at us in the reflection in the glass. The aggressive expression he once wore was gone and now he just looked distraught.

"I just got over being manipulated and controlled by one supernatural creature, I don't need to go to that place again," I paused, thinking about my own words before continuing. "Because, I know that if he were to leave me like Edward did, I wouldn't be able to survive it. This seems bigger to me, more permanent than anything I've felt before. I don't want to get hurt again."

"Bells, you have to understand, the shit I've seen from Sam the last couple times I've been around him, is not _him_. I've never seen him so worked up and flustered, so like any of us wolves, or pretty much guys in general, he reacts in the most instinctive way. To dominate is second nature to him, he's the Alpha. That's what he does, but he fights those urges every day, I've seen him do it. Trust me when I say, that the last thing he'd ever do is hurt you, but you need to cut him some slack. He's never had to do this before."

"Run a damn wolf pack, but treat a girl like a human being with intelligent thoughts, no way!" I snapped back. His words made sense but I didn't want to give in so easily. "''Difficult' for him, my ass. He's not even trying."

"He is trying, Bells. Running the pack is easy. We have the pack-mind and he has the Alpha command, it's not like anyone can really give him a problem. You're different. You don't have to listen to him, and he doesn't know how to deal with that."

"Like that makes me feel any better? What, he's pissy now because he can't control every single thing I do? That's mature." I scoffed, glaring at Jacob through the glass. He scowled back at me.

"We call each other brothers, but the closest thing the Alpha is to us is a father, and for some members of the pack Sam is the only father figure they've ever had. He runs his own construction company, he has his own house, he pretty much has eight wolf-children running around everywhere, and you wanna say he isn't mature because he isn't handling a teenage girl very well? Excuse me if women don't come naturally to him, or any guy for that matter."

My eye brows nearly rose into my hairline. I didn't think I'd ever heard Jacob speak so much in one breath in my life. I knew I was being harsh with my assessment of the leader of Jake's little rat-pack. It usually wasn't in my character to be so judgmental. I didn't like that side of me, but Sam brought out intense emotions in me, emotions I didn't even know I could feel.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Jake. It's just . . ." I trailed off, watching us in the window again, unable to make the words form that I wanted so desperately to say.

"I know. " Jacob sighed, tilting his head back and starring at the ceiling. I knew how difficult it was for him. He was between a rock and a hard place with Sam and I. I couldn't really blame him for trying to resolve it, but at the same time I resented Jacob and the free will he still had. It was easy to give someone advice when you aren't in the situation yourself.

"Listen, Jake . . ." I started, but stopped suddenly when I saw a shadow shift into the dim light of the street lamp down the road. The hulking figure of a giant dog prowled closer to my yard until I couldn't make its form out from the background anymore. I snapped my head back around to face Jacob again. My glare met his happy eyes.

He just laughed at my expression and then rocketed out of the door before I could cause him or myself any bodily harm. I couldn't believe the audacity of this wolf pack. Who the hell did they think they were?

I stormed down the stair after Jacob, already knowing he'd be gone before I even got down the stairs but that didn't dim the irritation I felt. I hopped unceremoniously down the stairs and nearly tripped on the landing but managed to right myself before that happened.

I swung the front door and was unsurprised to not see Jacob's face but a serious looking Sam Uley.

"Isabella, you can't do this to us." Sam breathed out, his voice sounding a bit withered. I tried not to noticed how worried he looked, or the way his eyes were trailing all over me, taking note of every little difference since the time he'd last saw me. He seemed relieved but torn up as well.

"Do what?" I stepped back from his ridiculously large frame and let him enter my house.

"Fight the bond. I know it's hard for you as well. I don't know why you're being so stubborn." He breathed, pushing himself into my personal space and I'd be lying if I said I didn't automatically breathe in his scent and feel a thousand times better by doing so.

"How can I be okay with this? You're only here because you have to be. It hurts you if you're away too long. How is that healthy?" I ask back as he cups my face and our eyes meet. I stare at him, I could see my reflection starring back at me in his eyes and I'm pleading. I'm pleading with him to see how different the situation is for me, and I know he does, but I also know he won't fight it.

"Wouldn't you miss someone you loved? Wouldn't you long for them so much sometimes that it would physically hurt?" He reasoned, backing me up into the wall opposite the door. His arms braced me gently until my back finally made soft contact with the wood paneling.

"This is different."

"The only thing different is that no one will ever love somebody as much as I love you. You don't have to say it; I already know how you feel." His forehead pressed against mine and our breaths mingled. It felt like he'd broken down all of my defenses in a minute flat, everything I've rationalized over the past week simply washed away by his assured nature.

I did then, the only thing I could think of in that moment. I lifted my mouth up to his and pressed our lips gently together. The change in him was instantaneous, his arms latched tightly around my waist and he lifted me up the wall and my legs wrapped easily around his narrow hips.

He kissed me deeply, lightly grazing his tongue across my bottom lip, not probing or begging for entrance, just tasting and relishing the moment. He pulled back after a few moments and then rested his cheek against mine.

"I just want to stay this way for a while, Beautiful. Just let me have this moment." Sam whispered sweetly into my ear, his soft breath tickling the sensitive skin there and I sighed, happy for the moment with how we were.

I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against his broad shoulder, content with just _being_ for a little while.

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